Mystery Unveiled
by Ebony-Rosez
Summary: How long can someone keep a secret? Ruki thought keeping secrets would be beneficial to her sanity, but in the end it was a heavier burden than she expected. Like living a double life. Pretending to be two different sides of herself. She just couldn't take it much longer. She wanted to share her feelings about a certain dark haired, tan... stupidly perfect boy. RyoXRuki One-Shot


**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon nor do I own any of its amazing characters.**

 **A/N: So, what if Ryo and Ruki had gotten together sooner? Hmm… Just a little idea that popped into my head as I was writing the last chapter of my story. I thought I might explore it in a one-shot.**

 **Ryuki… in a secret relationship, secret from their friends and family. Scandalous!**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

~Ruki POV~

(High School)

* * *

"Ruki, you have to come to the dance with us!" Jeri whined as we left our last class of the day. Ever since we entered our first year of upper secondary education (tenth grade), she had been bubbling excitedly about the different festivals and dances associated with said festivals that she wanted us to attend.

I really wish that I was still in my all-girls school these days. Not really, that school was too much drama for me; though it would be a break from the Jeri melodrama that I can only take so much of at a time.

I had entered public school, co-ed public school, alongside the rest of the Digimon Tamers the next school year after the incident with the D-Reaper.

I had packed up my gym bag, since gym was the last period Jeri and I had today, and tossed my backpack in my locker after transferring over my essentials for the evening. My binders for homework and books, anything else I wanted to take home.

There was no sense in dragging two heavy bags full of books and other ridiculous items home.

I turned my head when I heard an aggravated tapping of a shoe at me. Impatiently, I snapped.

"What?! I heard you okay!? I don't want to go to a dance. You're dragging me along to the festival –only because it is happening during school hours. But after that, I am going home. Just like I am right now. See you tomorrow."

I slung my gym bag over my shoulder and turned on me heel to walk home. Shoving my headphones in my ears to drown out the incessant ramblings of the mahogany-haired girl behind me.

Blasting my music, I walked down the hall and out the front doors. Taking a shortcut through the courtyard of the school to make it home quicker. Hopefully.

The lucky thing was that I was faster than Jeri, so she wouldn't catch up with me easily if I ran. I could faintly hear her yelling after me, but I didn't bother turning around to acknowledge that. It would give her false hope that I cared. I personally could care less what it was she was lecturing me about. I care about her of course. She's my friend, but she could be so overbearing sometimes.

Actually, I knew what she was lecturing me about. She was probably telling me how anti-social I still am—regardless of the fact that I now have these dorks as my friends. The Digimon Tamers, I mean how lame is our little group name? Yes, that is what we are, but our Digimon are gone currently… so we didn't need to keep calling ourselves that. Right?

It just made things hurt more.

Anyway, while I was focusing on ignoring Jeri, I must have rounded the corner too quickly and ran face first into someone. Practically blinding myself from the force, and immediately angry. Angry at this person for not paying attention as much as I was angry at myself for losing my footing and paying more attention to Jeri than to where I was going.

Ugh!

Of course, the contact had caused us both to topple over. Me falling on top of the guy… this guy… I suddenly became very aware of the person I was dumbly laying on.

Ryo Akiyama.

Pretty boy Legendary Tamer with his perfect teeth and stupid foolhardy grin. Ugh, he makes me sick.

I pulled one earbud out of my ear begrudgingly and shoved myself off of him, scrambling to my feet before picking up my bag. I didn't bother to offer to help him up, and I barely wanted to acknowledge this little…. Interaction anyway.

"Sorry," I muttered, trying to walk past him, but he stuck his hand out to stop me.

"You dropped your phone, Wildcat. What's the rush?" Ryo said, dangling my cellphone in front of my face. I instinctively reached for it but he held it higher, and closer to himself in the process.

I grit my teeth. I knew what he was doing and it was not happening here.

"I need to get home, that's the rush. Give me my phone, Akiyama." I practically spat his name. "And stop calling me Wildcat."

His smile never faltered. Even though my words were harsh, and my tone was certainly irritable. It usually was. He was obviously used it by now. For so many reasons, really.

"I will walk you home, I am headed that direction," with that he started walking towards my house with my cellphone still in his hand.

My eyes widened and I lurched forward to follow him, still annoyed.

"Aki..yama…" I huffed his last name out, almost losing my breath from overexerting my energy from my temper and how quickly he was walking. I could barely catch up with him. "Whoa, slow down…. Ryo!" I finally shouted.

That got his attention. He stopped at a light since we had to stop to wait for the sign to tell us it was safe to cross.

His eyebrows were raised in surprise. I never called him by his first name, not in public anyway, but this time it had just slipped out.

"Wow, with people around, you're using a first name basis?" Ryo asked, his mouth quirking up at the corners.

I smacked his chest as I walked up beside him and tried once again to reach my phone.

"Shut up, you were walking so fast. Hand me my phone."

"What's the magic word?"

"I will punch you in the nuts if you don't give it to me," I gave him a pointed expression, yet once again he didn't look fazed. "Ugh, fine. Ryo, please give me my phone?"

His signature smile returned and he gently dropped my phone into my hand before kissing my cheek.

"Better. And I was walking quick to get us away from Jeri. She was who you were running from, wasn't it?"

I just nodded mutely. I hated when he kissed me like that. It wasn't sexual or anything, but we were amongst people and someone could recognize us at any minute. A teacher, a peer… a friend… our friends.

"You're not supposed to do that unless we're safe. You know the rules."

"Momentary lapse of judgement. Sorry, Pumpkin."

I turned and half-heartedly glared at him. "You aren't sorry at all Pretty Boy."

I began our journey back to my house as soon as the light turned green and the signal to walk allowed us to do so. He followed loyally at my side.

Walking with him was making my stomach flip flop from nervousness. I didn't want us to get caught by anyone.

So, I guess I should fill in the blanks. Ryo and I have been secretly…. Seeing each other. I don't like to give him the satisfaction of saying that we are 'dating', but we are closer to being a couple than not. I will just put it that way.

It had been a couple years since we saved our world and the Digital World from the colossus problem that was the D-Reaper, as well as saving Jeri's life. In that time, Ryo and I had become closer. He was always a pain in my ass, but he was my pain in the ass.

He flirted a lot and for a while I really tried to pretend that I didn't like him back. I tried to pretend that I didn't like the attention he was giving me. But after several attempts, I buckled. Unbeknownst to all of our friends and frankly our families were in the dark too.

I didn't need any of them prying into our private lives.

My relationship with my mom was still rocky at times, and Ryo's relationship with his dad could be rocky as well. Even Ryo didn't feel the need to tell anyone anything. I think he was just happy that I finally broke down the barrier and said 'yes' the last time he asked me out on a date. Though, I am pretty sure my grandma has things figured out, but she never says anything out of the ordinary.

I love that about her.

It all started from there.

Now, we have been seeing each other for a few months, give or take. Things were going pretty well. Our day to day was generally like this interaction together. Until we got somewhere that both Ryo and I felt safe enough to be ourselves.

I reached my street and glanced at Ryo, remembering him saying that he was heading this direction anyway. And then I blinked and mentally smacked myself in the face.

"Why didn't you take your truck today? Isn't it still at the school?"

He calmly glanced at me, his smile in place.

"Yes, I figured I would leave it there and let people wonder where I am while I spend some time with my girlfriend and one the way home, I will stop by the school and pick it up. Is that a problem, babe?" Ryo leaned against the fence surrounding my house.

I punched the gate-code in and shook my head exasperatedly.

"No, but we would have gotten here sooner if we had taken your ride." I mentioned and walked inside, motioning him to follow me.

I usually didn't let him come inside the yard until I knew the coast was clear. But I didn't immediately see my mother's car and I knew my grandmother was out having bingo night with her friends. Which left my house empty and safe for our secret to remain intact.

He didn't protest and followed me around the yard towards the back where my room was and I slid the door open to let us in, tossing my bag near my closet and kicked off my shoes. He mimicked my gesture and kicked off his shoes beside mine.

"What if your family comes home?"

"I will shove you in the closet and you can sneak out while I distract them. It's pretty easy to get out of here. I used to do it all the time while I was with Renamon."

He raised a brow. "True, you always have been a rebel."

I smirked, this time, and walked over to him. "Is there a problem with that, Mr. Justice?"

Ryo sent me a mock glare and pulled me into his embrace, shaking his head.

"No, no problem whatsoever, Wildcat."

I stared up into his cobalt eyes for a moment. Being with him still made butterflies flare up in my gut. There were moments where I didn't feel like I was the right person for this nearly perfect boyfriend of mine. I didn't feel worthy.

I was this sarcastic, mean, cold-hearted bitchy girl. And yet he fawned over me like those attributes were redeemable.

He liked me. He said that from the moment we met, he had developed a huge crush and eventually that crush had led to him falling for me. Head-over-heels, they say.

I had tried not to fall for this boy. He had enough fangirls to fawn over him and tell him how seemingly perfect he was, and yet despite my active trying, I fell for him back.

I felt his warm hands brush my bangs away from my eyes, and gently pull my hair free from its ponytail. He usually said that he did it to try and rile me up, but I think he just likes the way I look with my hair down. Not that he doesn't like me with it up, too.

I brought my eyes to level with his again. Warm, comforting blue hues could drown me in an instant.

His smile got closer until his tan lips covered mine in a sweet kiss.

Even though I had technically expected that, it still made me jump before settling into his embrace. Sometimes this would happen. We would make out a bit… wherever we were able to be together without interruption, and then do our homework, chat, usually go get something for dinner, or go out and try and find out if we could find a portal to get back to our Digimon partners.

All of that before bedtime, and then do it all over another day. School before our relationship.

Sometimes it was difficult to hide, but I knew we were both good at keeping this under wraps. I could banter with him authentically any day. Plus, it still let him flirt and we would both get that satisfaction.

We broke from the kiss with a startle as I heard a car door shut outside and shoved myself away from him.

"Get in the closet!" I hissed, shoving my hair back up into my typical ponytail and straightened out my shirt.

Ryo hurried into the closet as I heard a knock at my bedroom door.

"Ruki, sweetheart. Are you home?"

Of course it was my mom.

I walked over and slid the door open instead of just yelling back through the material.

"Yeah, just got home a little while ago. What's up, Mom?" I asked casually. I knew if I pointed out her being home when I didn't expect her to be would come off as suspicious, so I let that go and just decided to have a regular conversation with her. I hope she doesn't find that out of the ordinary.

She smiled at seeing me.

We had our moments. Sometimes things were great and some days we were screaming at each other for anything and everything. My grandma said living in a home full of raging estrogen often caused the unnecessary fighting. I didn't disagree with her.

"Oh, well I got off work early. Your grandma said she was going to be out late playing bingo with her friends, so I thought that you and I could go have dinner together and maybe have a mini- girls' night and bonding moment. I know it's a school night, so nothing crazy, but… What do you say?"

My heart sunk slightly. Not because my mother was being legit right now, but because it would mean that I would have to leave Ryo. I hated feeling torn about this.

I was about to answer when I heard rustling to the side of me. I knew Ryo wouldn't intentionally make noise…

My mother must have saw me glance over and she looked that direction, following my gaze toward the closet.

"What was that? Is Renamon back or something?"

My heart sunk again at the memory. I shook my head.

"Not sure. It's not Renamon. Like I said, I just got home."

She shrugged, taking that as a sign that it was probably the wind or something in the house making noise.

I began to answer her again, when I heard the rustling again followed by a sneeze. A very boyish… sneeze. Oh god, those compulsions….

It made me jump and my mom scream. She pushed past me and ran to my closet, grabbing a shoe in the process and threw the doors to my closet open. Smacking Ryo immediately before registering who he was.

He threw his hands up in defense and stared at me with surprised but apologetic eyes. I could only nod and mirror that expression.

My mother turned to me, hands on her hips.

"Ruki Makino, what the hell is going on?" She gave Ryo a look and he immediately walked out of the closet with his hands in his pockets, and moved away from both of us.

He looked like he was ready to run.

"Mom, I… I can explain." I shot him a look, not really knowing what to say, but wanting to tell her. Tell somebody.

Ryo gazed at me for several moments before nodding his agreement.

"Just tell her the truth, Ruki."

"Well, don't lie to me or you are both going to be in serious trouble." My mother had never really been very intimidating. She had never been very good at the parenting part of her life. She was sufficient enough. Her modelling career had always been her best feature. But these days, she had gotten better. Right now was living proof of that.

I bit the inside of my cheek and finally sighed.

"He's my boyfriend, Mom. Chill out." I blurted, kicking the shoe that she dropped of mine that she had assaulted Ryo with away.

Her jaw literally dropped with shock. I am pretty sure she was not expecting the term _boyfriend_. Honestly, I am not sure what possibly could have been going through her mind, but I surprised her nevertheless.

"I'm sorry, what? I could have sworn that you just said you have a boyfriend."

"We are dating, Mrs. Makino." Ryo confirmed.

"Miss. Ms. Makino. Rumiko actually… I hate being called Ms. Makino. Makes me feel so old," she corrected immediately, looking from him to me and then back. "How long have you been dating?"

I glanced at him, tilting my head in thought. "About five months, officially."

Ryo nodded. I could tell that he wanted to walk over and stand by me, but my mother intimidated him right now. I gave him a sympathetic expression.

My mother was quiet for a few minutes, taking in the situation. Then she looked at me seriously.

"Ryo, can you wait outside? I need to talk to my daughter."

There was no need to ask him twice.

I had never had this happen so I just gazed at him as his listened without commenting and walked out to the back, sliding the door shut behind him. The walls were thin enough that he would be able to hear the conversation if he was close to the house, but knowing Ryo he probably decided to walk over to the fence far away to try and escape any wrath that might come his way from the Makino women.

I took a deep breath and set my shoulders. Bracing myself. I had a feeling I knew where this conversation was headed. I was sixteen, just barely younger than the age she was when pregnant with me. And now she knew that I had a boyfriend. An attractive boyfriend.

My mother turned to me as soon as she felt it was safe and opened her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it.

"No, we aren't having sex you can relax. I am not pregnant by any means."

She snapped her mouth shut and frowned at me.

"Hey, I am allowed to be a concerned parent right now, Ruki. Don't dismiss this. Why didn't you feel like you could tell me, or grandma for that matter? We know Ryo. It's not like you are dating some hooligan."

I laughed at her word choice.

"He is a hooligan— what are you talking about?" I looked down at the floor, not really wanting to have this conversation at all. "I just… nobody knows. You'll be the first."

She frowned again. Her purple eyes, just like mine, clouded a little from her mood.

"Why did you guys keep it secret?"

"For ourselves. Mostly because we wanted to see how things would be between us, I guess?"

"Have you two been sneaking around to see each other for five months?"

I nodded in affirmation.

"It was easier that way. Easier than dealing with this… no offense."

"I'm sorry you two don't feel comfortable enough to be public about it. I'm relieved to hear you say that you're not sexually active, but you know if you get there… you can talk to me, you know?"

I shook my head. "Too awkward. This conversation just got too awkward, Mom." I pushed off from leaning against the wall.

"But… hey, that's important stuff. It is awkward, but it would be more awkward if you come home and tell me that you got knocked up."

I sighed, shaking my head again.

"Mom, please stop it. Ryo and I aren't even there, okay? Like we have made out, a bunch of times, but it doesn't go anywhere else. I just… gah, this is so weird." I paced back and forth for a few. "Can you just trust that I am not a girl who is just going to jump in bed with him because I think he's hot? Give me a little credit. And don't take this the wrong way, but I am not you."

She was silent, a very long pause went by and I worried that I had offended her. I wasn't trying to throw that in her face. Not that it wasn't true. She knew that she was not the best role model for this kind of stuff. She still saw a lot more guys than she probably should. She loved the attention and the lavish gifts more than the men and relationships.

At least that is how it looks to me, whether that is true or not she has yet to confirm. I had never really asked her thoughts on the matter.

When she spoke she was quiet, but not upset which was what I was preparing myself for.

"Ruki, I know that you aren't like me. Frankly, you are in a class of your very own in this family. A stronger woman than I will probably ever be, and smarter even than your grandmother. I am not worried that you are going to go out and get yourself pregnant. I just… I want us to be able to talk about things, like your relationship. Relationships are hard work. And I want you to have avenues to let off steam when it gets difficult, and people to talk to about your feelings and frustrations. Or even the happy times. If you keep your relationship secret, you could doom it, too. And I want to see you and Ryo succeed. I always knew you liked that boy."

A blush crept its way onto my cheeks and neck, flushing a dark pink. I took a deep breath. I knew—this time—that she was right, for once. It was hard to keep things secret. It would get harder the longer him and I dated, especially if—god forbid—Ryo and I actually get into a serious fight or argument. We wouldn't have anyone to talk to about it.

She had a point, and a good one.

I nodded and walked over to hug her. Grateful for her sincere moment of motherhood.

"Thanks, Mom. That actually makes me feel… lighter. It has been difficult to hide, already; so I can only imagine that the longer we try and hide it, the harder it is going to get. I want… I want us to be able to talk about this stuff too. I just didn't know if we were there, you know?" I glanced up at her and she stroked my hair gently, nodding. "But I guess we are, and that feels good too. I will talk to Ryo and see about us taking our relationship out of the secret status."

She smiled at me. That expression parents give when they are both happy and sad that their children are growing up. The pride and joy and sorrow of it all. That was _the_ smile.

"I am so proud of you, Ruki. I always have been. I think that will be a great idea. Please, don't hesitate to talk to me and your grandmother about this stuff. We want to be here for you and help in any way that we can. Your grandma has lots of advice, and unlike me when I was your age, you might actually listen to some of it."

I nodded again.

"I will do my best to keep that in mind," Looking out the window, I tried to figure out where my boyfriend was dawdling. "Mom, can Ryo stay for a while? And later can I walk back to school with him so he can pick up his truck? I will have him drop me off back at home."

It took her a moment to respond to me, but she finally did with a smile.

"Sure, honey. Ask him if he wants to stay for dinner. I will order take out instead of us going out somewhere. Good compromise?"

"That sounds really great, actually. Yes."

"Okay I will be in the family room if you need me. I will let you know when dinner arrives." She kissed the top of my head and walked through the main door from my room leading into the main house and left us be.

I walked over to the sliding door that lead out to the backyard, finding my boyfriend studying the koi pond. He heard the sound of the door and looked up with a mixture of anxiousness and eagerness to know what was going on.

"You can come back in my room. My mom said you can stay for a while, and she's ordering some take out so we can have dinner here instead."

Ryo walked over to me and followed me back into the bedroom, sliding the door shut once more.

"Was she very angry?"

"No, more surprised. She wanted to know why we were keeping things a secret and said that she was hoping for some open communication now that I am dating someone. For both your sake and mine, she thinks it would be a good idea for us to take our relationship out into the light and stop keeping it a secret from everyone."

"That's what your mother thinks; what do you want to do Ruki?" He asked gently. He sounded thoughtful. I think he was appreciative that my mother hadn't just yelled blatantly at us for anything.

I bit my lip a little. I was nervous about telling everybody, but it also felt right. Before I had felt like we had to hide our relationship and our feelings, but it didn't feel that way anymore. It had been a little suffocating. Maybe we just needed that time to adjust to dating life.

"I think, maybe we should tell our friends and family. And then just stop hiding it from everyone else. What if we get in a fight and only you and I know about our relationship, so we can't tell anyone why we were mad or hurt or upset? That would be really awful."

He took my hand gently in his, looking up at the ceiling of my room. Gently running his thumb across the top of my hand.

"I agree with you. We could do that. You know that our friends are going to, like, lose their minds, right? Especially Jeri. Kazu too, even. He is weirdly protective of me."

I could only laugh. "He's a true fan, Ryo. Don't kill his buzz." I smiled and squeezed his hand gently in my grasp in response to our hand-holding. "But all joking aside, yes. I know that our friends are going to freak out. All these years they have been trying to get us together, and we did that on our own without their help or knowledge."

"Are you prepared for the onslaught?"

"As prepared as I can be. When though?"

"Tomorrow?"

I made a face. Tomorrow was really soon…but I guess there wasn't an ideal time that would be better than another. Our friends were going to freak out regardless.

"Yeah, I guess tomorrow is as good as ever. We tell our friends tomorrow and whenever you want to tell your dad, we can deal with that then?"

He nodded. His face matched the one I made thinking about tomorrow when I mentioned his father.

"That works. Talk about someone who will have a cow when I tell him that I am dating someone."

"Will your dad like me?"

Ryo stared at me, but a smile spread across his face.

"He will like you better than he likes me and that is all that I care about."

"Why don't you and your dad get along again? You've never really told me why."

I watched my boyfriend take a deep breath. I leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek for encouragement. It was the best I could do.

He flashed me a grateful smile.

"Because he says I am too much like him, and after my mother died, he found that it was really hard being a single parent. I just think not having my mom there to buffer made his and my relationship strain over the years. I am too independent for his liking."

"If he hates you being independent than he will probably hate me more."

"No, you aren't his child. He doesn't have to tell you what to do, so your independence is separate from him. That's why I said he will like you better than he likes me. He loves me, but he doesn't always seem to like me being around. Which is probably why he isn't home much, and neither am I. He works a lot anyway."

I moved closer to him to rest my head on his shoulder while I listened.

"Well, we will tackle that stuff together. My mom knows which means that my grandmother will find out soon. We will spring the news about us to our friends tomorrow and deal with the outcome of that when it arises. And when you feel comfortable, we can talk to your dad."

"We can just rip the band-aid off with my dad. We had to rip the band-aid off with your mom. Who knows, maybe it will bring me and my dad closer one day. It looks like our dating is slowly going to bring you and your mom closer."

Before I could think about my actions, I reached up and kissed him more fervently than I have ever done. All this talking about taking our relationship out of the shadows was empowering. As nervous as I still was to be in a dating relationship with a guy, with that guy being Ryo, I really enjoyed talking to him like this, and spending quality time together.

I also really liked kissing him. And our make-out sessions could get pretty steamy, but we kept them as tame as we could with raging hormones.

He laced our fingers together on the side of his face, gently, as he responded to my kisses.

The knock at my door forced us back to the reality that my mother was also in the house with us and that our making out was going to have to be delayed for another time.

That signaled dinner.

I pulled Ryo up from the wall we had been leaning against and lead him to the main part of the house to eat the food my mother bought.

* * *

After an interesting dinner of listening to my mom tell us all about her day at work (boring), I was walking with Ryo back to the high school to pick up his truck. He had been surprised that my mother had agreed to letting me go with him, but I insisted that he didn't walk back to school in the dark by himself and she had drunk some wine with our dinner and hadn't felt comfortable with being the driver. And I wasn't allowed to touch her car yet, even though I could drive.

We made it to school, after visiting a few pit stops on the way to make up for the kissing that we couldn't do with my mom present in the house.

I followed him around to the student parking lot in the back where he had left his truck.

"Does security report cars that are left after school hours?" I asked, glancing around. Knowing that there were security and police cars that patrolled the area both during and after school to make sure that the campus was safe.

Ryo shook his head, tossing his backpack in the bed of the truck and unlocking the doors for me and himself.

"No, because I know several teachers that have to stay late and sometimes the faculty parking lot is full and they have to park elsewhere. But other than that. I think the only time they report vehicles that are left is when they are left for a period of time. Like if my truck sat here for several days, they might find that suspicious and do something about it. Need help getting in?" He asked looking at me over the bed of the truck.

I shook my head indignantly.

His truck was tall, but I'll be damned if I needed my boyfriend to help me hop in. I could scale walls, what did he take me for?

"Of course I don't need your help getting in. It's not a monster truck or anything."

I used the rail meant to assist in passengers to get in and hoisted myself into the passenger seat without assistance, and all I could hear was him chuckle as he slid into his drivers' side.

"Sometimes when we're together in secret and you let your wall down, I forget how sassy you are."

"That part doesn't change just because I am nice to you and like you. I like our friends and I am sassy to them most of the time."

"It is different, babe. You are sassy to our friends, and don't get me wrong you can still throw a barb to me as sharp as a knife, but I can handle the edges. I just forget because you do have your sweet moments that make the edges soft."

I could barely groan. He wasn't wrong, but I hated when he pointed it out. I knew that my cold demeanor was thawing a little more these days. Sometimes I just like to pretend that I am that cold-hearted bitch and keep the guard up, just to remember how strong I was. But that really wasn't strength. It was weakness more than anything.

This stuff, the mushy sweet parts were what made me stronger. Caring about this guy, and our friends, and my family. The love I felt for all of them—that was what was important.

"Alright, just don't talk too much about the soft edges in front of other people. I don't need the whole world knowing that the Ice Queen is thawing as much as she is."

He chuckled again, putting the truck in reverse and backing out.

"Deal babe. I guess I have to take you back home now, don't I?"

"That is what my mother is expecting. Did you have something else in mind?"

Ryo smiled and offered me his hand to hold as he drove. I think it was more of a subconscious move than anything. He usually left his hand, palm up, on the seat between us when I drove in his truck. It was comforting.

"I have things in mind. But I know it's a school night. How about Friday we go out on a date? Like outside in the world… since we won't be hiding our relationship as a huge secret anymore."

I placed my hand in his, watching out the window as he spoke, and turned my head to gaze at him hearing his suggestion.

That would be ultimately our first 'real' date out. We have had date nights, but they were always secretive because we were hiding being together that way.

Wow, that made me a little more nervous, but also excited.

"Really? I think that sounds… perfect," I glanced back out the window, trying to force my blush back and hoping that my observant boyfriend wouldn't catch the glow. "Yes, please."

"It is settled. Friday night, you're my girl. I will pick you up and we will enjoy a real date together."

"I can't wait, Ryo."

"Neither can I, Ruki."

* * *

After Ryo had dropped me off last night, I couldn't sleep very well. This morning I took an extra-long, hot shower and let the steam relax my muscles. I got ready and left the house early to stop at a café on the way to school to grab a hot drink to help wake me up and calm my nerves.

We had agreed that we were telling our friends about our relationship today and it had my insides wrapped up in knots.

The weather was nice today. It was a cool autumn morning. The sun was bright in the sky and there was a breeze that swept the falling leaves, dancing down from the tree tops, around the city-scape.

I was grateful for the chill in the air. It felt nice after the hot shower and the hot drink I had just ordered.

I began my journey to campus. Jeri had text me this morning saying something about meeting up in the cafeteria before classes begun today.

That would probably be where Ryo and I told everybody since we would all be gathered together.

The nervous energy surged through me again, as I stopped at a crosswalk on the way to school. I had my headphones in, blaring music to try and help me keep calm on the way.

I didn't notice the truck next to me was familiar of course.

But the honk to my left turned my attention up from the asphalt that I had been focusing on.

A smile sprung to my lips when I realized it was my boyfriend. He had pulled over and opened the door to let me in.

"You know I can give you a ride to school, instead of you just walking all the time. I do have a truck to help with travel time now."

I laughed softly and accepted the ride without complaint. Climbing into the cab of the vehicle.

"Morning to you, early bird."

He grinned. "You're a grump in the morning, Pumpkin."

I took a sip of my coffee. I didn't always drink the dark liquid, usually tea was my go-to, but today I was desperate for the extra boost. I needed the energy.

"I am a grump most of the time. Not just mornings, thank you very much." I teased.

The rest of the trip was quiet between us. Ryo allowed me time to find my bearings before the gathering with our friends. It was a short trip anyway, since we had taken his truck. Drive time was so much quicker than walking. I really wanted my own car. Having my license just wasn't enough anymore. This summer I wanted to get a job and save up to purchase my own vehicle. That way I wasn't relying solely on my boyfriend's truck.

Not that he minded driving us around.

After he parked, we walked together to the cafeteria. Ryo glanced at me.

"Are you ready for this?"

"More ready than not, come on. Jeri will start calling me if we don't just head in." I motioned for him to follow me. He opened the door for me to walk through and was right behind me as we walked up to the booth and table that our friends were gathered by.

Jeri sent us a bright, cheery smile.

"Good mooorning!" She crowed happily. She was by far worse than Ryo was in the morning. He was a cheerful person, but Jeri she was on a different playing field.

Takato, Henry, and Alice were sitting around the table and greeted us normally, calmly. Kazu and Kenta joined us a few minutes later.

Ryo and I slid into one side of the booth along the bench – together.

"Hey, guys," I greeted, internally trying to prepare myself. It was here. The time was now.

Kazu gave me a funny look.

"You're sitting with Ryo? That's weird dude. You're usually the one who skulks off at the end of the table tryin' to be as far away from everyone as possible. Like you are trying to escape."

"Yeah!" Kenta agreed with him, "Miss anti-social, what's up with you today?"

Their voices were like nails on a chalk board. I mentally cringed and was about to throw out a sassy barb when Ryo spoke up.

"Lay off, guys. Give her some credit. She sits with us at least. She acknowledges your presence, isn't that enough?"

Henry chuckled, not finding Ryo's defense of me out of place in any way.

"True, I remember at the beginning, before we made it to the Digital World when Ruki would barely meet up with us to stop the rogue Digimons that materialized in the city. She used to pretend that Takato and I didn't exist, I think," he responded thoughtfully.

I could only shake my head.

"You and Goggle-head over there always found the trouble, and I had to go clean up your mess. Like I wanted to be blamed by society for the uproar. Could you blame me?" I muttered, but surprisingly had a smile on my face.

Takato frowned for a moment, but laughed at my use of his nickname. I had been fond of it ever since I met the boy who decided that goggles were better than sunglasses. Nerd.

"How could we blame you? You'd glare daggers at it either way. But you really did have a knack for being able to ignore someone. If there was a championship for the silent treatment, you would be queen of that, too."

Jeri was eyeing me suspiciously, as she climbed over the back of the booth to scoot in and sit by Takato. Forcing Henry and Alice to move away slightly.

I am not sure why we tried to cram all eight of us in this tiny booth. Granted Kazu and Kenta had pulled two chairs over to sit at the forefront of the table instead of trying to force themselves onto the benches with the rest of us. Alice got up and decided to grab another chair to set beside the booth with Henry, but he insisted that he use it and let her sit on the bench more comfortably.

He was such a gentleman. I am not really sure if Henry and Alice were dating or not, but they certainly did not hide the fact that they were fond of each other. At the very least.

Takato and Jeri had been dating for a little over two years now, and they were comfortable with each other in everyone's presence. That I have witnessed anyway.

Ryo glanced at me.

"Now?" He prompted, not wanting to say anything further in case I wasn't ready to do this. He didn't want to tip Jeri off that we had something to tell them. Because that girl would not let it go. Neither would Kazu or Kenta for that matter.

I just nodded mutely.

I wasn't fully prepared, but at the same time, I was. I had mixed feelings about it all, but I knew it was going to be for the best. I am sure I will feel lighter and less nervous about the whole situation after we share our news with the group.

I took a short breath through my nose and looked up at our friends, who had turned their attention to Ryo after his inquiry.

"What about 'now'?" Takato asked, leaning his elbows on the table eagerly. "Something up?"

"Kinda," I was the one to answer him, which turned everyone's attention to me. Even surprised Ryo a smidge. I didn't wait for anyone to respond. "So, Ryo and I have something to tell you all… and I'm just going to say it." I paused for a moment to force back the nerves. "We're, uh, we're dating."

I bit my lip despite myself.

Ryo grabbed my hand under the table, comfortingly.

The group erupted with surprise, just as I had predicted. Kazu and Kenta looked physically shocked. Jeri had practically stood up from her position and was leaning over the table, trying to peer into my soul to see if I was bluffing or not.

"Are you for real right now?"

"Why would she lie about that, Jer?" Ryo asked; he looked like he was ready to get up and walk away. He looked how I felt.

She just shook her head.

"I just thought… wow! You two are good at keeping stuff undercover!" She beamed. I could tell she was happy for us, but still looked very shocked.

"How long has this been going on exactly?" It was Kazu that demanded the information.

"Five months, give or take a few." I replied flatly.

I gently nudged Ryo. The bell was going to ring soon and I wanted out of the crowded space. He slid out of the booth and pulled me up by the hand to join him.

"Don't say 'going on' like you have been lied to, Kazu. It's our business and what we wish to divulge to you is a privilege. We didn't say anything because of that kind of negativity… Ruki and I are happy, and that's all I give a damn about. See you guys later, when you some of you can react more appropriately," He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and walked out of the cafeteria with me.

Henry and Alice had smiles on their faces, like they were genuinely happy for us. So had Takato. But Jeri, Kazu and Kenta had reacted the way that I feared they would. With more criticism than congratulations. And that was beyond annoying.

Suddenly, I could feel the eyes of our peers watching as I walked to class with Ryo, publically displaying that we were a couple. I glanced up at his face. He looked a little disturbed by the reaction of some of our friends and I nudged him gently.

He gazed down at me, giving me a semi-smile.

"They're going to look, they're going to talk, babe," he said gently. I nodded in response. It was a strange feeling. I knew that girls were really going to be jealous now and treat me worse than they already tried to treat me. His fangirls I mean.

But suddenly none of that mattered. I didn't care that they were going to act extra bitchy and jealous of my relationship with the guy they all wanted to date. Because, he wanted me. He was my boyfriend. Suddenly, I was very proud of that fact.

What a weird turn around. I didn't think that telling people could feel this liberating.

I was going to try and shrug Ryo's arm off, to give us some space, but at the moment his touch, his embrace was warm and comfortable. I reached up with my left hand and met his dangling hand that was around my shoulder and intertwined our fingers.

Ryo's expression was slightly surprised, pleasantly. I was accepting this, with the same effort that he was, and I think that meant a lot to him.

I didn't want our affection to seem one sided. It wasn't. I love Ryo… Oh, my god. I love him. Not just like… more than like.

His brow furrowed at my expression; he was watching me intensely as we stopped in the hallway near my first class. He was going to jog to his across the school in order for us to be together for the remaining minutes before the bell rang.

"Everything okay?" He asked quietly.

There was a dull murmur going down the halls about us. Not that this was heavy PDA or anything that the school could deem inappropriate, but people were surprised at me being a part of this equation. This relationship was causing an uproar. Just like we had expected.

I shook my head, giving him a genuine smile.

"Yeah, everything is fine. I just… had a revelation, of sorts." I replied, casting my gaze away from his eyes. Should I tell him?

We had never said the phrase to each other before. I never thought that it might be me to say it first. That part made me more nervous than telling our friends about our relationship.

He gently tilted my chin up to look at me again. His smile was encouraging and sweet.

"If that's the case, tell me what is on your mind, pretty please, Wildcat?"

I giggled softly, "Still with the 'Wildcat' pet name, eh?"

"Should I not call you that?"

"No, no I like it. It's just… I'm just stalling, I guess."

"Stalling? Why?"

"Because you asked what was on my mind, and it is just… um, kind of intimate."

He raised a quizzical brow, and I laughed again.

"Not sexual, intimate doesn't mean sexy thoughts, Pretty Boy."

Ryo nodded, chuckling despite himself. "My bad. But seriously, you can tell me anything, Ruk."

I focused on our hands being laced together, nervously rocking back on my heels while still in his embrace. I wanted to say it. But I wasn't sure how. Do you just come out and say something like that? I mean saying 'I love you' isn't exactly something I tell my mom or grandma all the time. It was mostly just implied. I have said it, and they have said it, but… that's different, too.

He was watching me again. With the same intensity in his eyes. I was making him nervous. Which was saying something, because it takes a lot to make the Legendary Tamer nervous.

I held up a finger on my other hand to signal to him that I was working on telling him something.

I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye.

I took a subtle, but deep breath. I conquered my fear of telling our friends about us today. This was just another big step. I could do this. Pep-talks, not my specialty, but it would be worth it to tell Ryo something of this magnitude.

I licked my lips, outwardly as nervous as Ryo was seeming inwardly.

"I just had a revelation that I may feel something more than like for you," It didn't exactly fall out of my mouth as gracefully as I had hoped.

Ryo took a second or two to register what I was saying.

His eyes were wide. Big and bold and beautifully blue orbs.

"More than like, Ruki… Are you trying to tell me that…" his voice trailed off, as if it had taken him by surprise more than he had expected.

We were alluding to it.

I nodded fervently and bit my lip hard.

"I love you," I breathed the words, softly.

I could tell he wanted to kiss me immediately as the words registered in his brain, but the bell rang and there was an instant bustling as the hordes of students began making their ways in every direction towards our classes.

Ryo actually took the opportunity to push me further back against the wall, and tucked carefully in the nook of the huge display case for trophies and other various awards from our school. There were so many people surrounding us, but not paying attention, that we were lost in the crowd and he used that to kiss me.

He kissed me passionately, practically pouring his soul into the connection. It was heated and full of adoration.

It took my breath away.

I gazed up at him through my lashes when we broke for a breath of air.

Ryo leaned his forehead against mine, gently, leaning over me with the hand that was holding mine still twined together about our heads and my back flush against the wall. He was shielding me from the world in this moment and for that I was grateful. I could feel my face heating up. I am sure I was almost as red as a tomato.

He smiled his signature grin down, looking into my eyes. There was an emotion in them that I had never really seen before. It was alive and possibly mirroring back the life that had been revived in me.

"I love you, Ruki Makino. I have loved you and I always will."

I brought my free hand up to tangle in his messy brown hair. Pushing myself up to my tiptoes to capture his lips again in a searing kiss.

"I have started something haven't I?" I asked, nearly breathless. He chuckled against my cheek, nodding.

"Something huge, I don't know if we can stop it now."

"Well, I guess we will just have to roll with it and see where the adventure takes us, then, won't we?" I nudged him gently, knowing that our time together was going to be cut short. There was, probably, only seconds left before the second bell rung. "Don't you have to get to gym, handsome?"

That was the first time I had ever used that nickname for him.

It caused a grin to erupt on his stupidly perfect tan face. He was glowing like I had never seen before.

Oh, god I have created a monster.

I really did love this monster, though. As scary as it was because it came along with chaos and change, and uncertainty. All things that you can't control, but all things that could lead to some beautiful moments and results.

"I can't wait to journey along that adventure with you. I can roll with it so long as you can," Ryo replied, carefully untangling our fingers and letting go of my hand. His smile never faltered. "I like the term handsome coming from you." He bent forward and kissed my cheek, so as not to tempt himself, or me frankly. "I will meet you after class, beautiful."

I nodded, sad to see him go, but giddy from today's events. "I can't wait, Ry. Hurry before you get in trouble."

"I love you, Ruki," He said quietly before running towards the gymnasium. I could hear the last few seconds of the music that played starting to speed up to tell the students that the bell was going to ring. He just might get detention after all.

"I love you, too, Ryo…"

Well, if that's the case, then so would I. He wasn't _that_ fast – cocky bastard. I grinned to myself, walking to the bathroom to check on my appearance. I was going to walk up into my class as if nothing had changed from any other previous day.

Those bitches won't know what hit them.

I grinned as the bathroom door shut behind me and I heard the loud chime of the bell signifying the start of the school day.

* * *

That was the beginning of a beautiful love story. Who knows where the future will take us? I can't wait to find out. Only time will tell…

* * *

 **A/N: There you go! Some extra Ryuki love from yours truly. A one-shot full of beautiful high school bliss. If Ryo and Ruki had started dating back in high school, this is how I picture it happening. I hope you like my vision. Let me know what you think! I thought that everyone would like a slightly alternate version of their love unfolding and blooming, in addition to my story 'Extraordinary Girl'.**

 **To make up for taking a long time to get that last chapter up. :)**

 **Please read, review, comment, favorite, whatever you deem appropriate! Thank you, readers!**

 **With love,**

 **~Ebony**


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